Fictitious
by The Controlled Chaos Alchemist
Summary: AU: A universe where Wheatley was just a figment of Chell's imagination... Or was he? Maybe he was more real than everybody thought. After all, why else would that scientist be able to see him too? Schizophrenic!Chell, Imaginary!Human!Wheatley, some minor Chelltley.


Fictitious

**AN: CCA here, and ready to roll. Sorry I can't continue Children Dearest. That's on hiatus for the moment until I can get the plot going again. In the meantime, enjoy my first Portal fic. This is actually a simple: what if? What if Wheatley was actually Chell's imaginary friend when she was a child? What if he was created due to her being really lonely because the other children made fun of her for seeing things? And what he came back when she was an adult due to trauma and a developed case of schizophrenia? **

**Well, GLaDOS would obviously make fun of her for being crazy in the same way as Doug Rattman if She found out, but I'm going more in depth on the idea. I'm also going to eventually have Wheatley become real because Chell imagines him so clearly. One other thing, Wheatley will be human in this because no kid will imagine a talking robot ball as their imaginary friend. Realism at its finest. Wheatley will also have a first name because personally, I can't see anybody having Wheatley as their first name. (seems more like a last name in my mind) Wheatley will also be the same age as Chell because kids won't have imaginary friends older or younger than them too often, and he will 'age' at the same rate that she does because I say so. Before I begin the story, I have a guest here with me. Say hello, Space Core!**

**Space: Space. Space. I'm in space. Chemy with me. In a fanfic. About space. SPAAAAAAACE!**

**I know, he's… an **_**unorthodox**_** guest, but he's funny and adorable and I like him. Do you want to do the disclaimer, SpaCo?**

**Space: Space. Chemy doesn't own anything about Portal or space. Can't call the space cops on her. She playin' it cool. Cool for the space cops.**

**Thanks, SpaCo! On to the story!**

**~~~~~~~CCA~~~~~~~**

Her name was Cielle Johnson. Her daddy wasn't around anymore because he got sick and coughed all the time and ended up falling asleep and not waking up, and her mommy tried to take care of her. Cielle was also very lonely. All the other kids at her school made fun of her because she saw too much. She saw things that people say weren't really there. They said that about Charlie, too. Of course, Charlie was just a nickname. His real name was Charles Wheatley, but he liked being called Charlie. He called her Chell, and she tried to get everybody else to call her that. Nobody else did. Charlie was her only friend, and nobody else could see him. But she knew he was there. And he appreciated that.

Right now, they sat in the daycare at Aperture Science. Today was Bring Your Daughter to Work Day, and the other girls whispered. They whispered about her, her parents not being around, her 'thinking Charlie was real', her in general. Chell bit her lip and tried to focus on the potato battery she was supposed to be making. "Why don't people like me, Charlie?" she asked, turning to the boy next to her. He looked at her with his bright blue eyes hidden behind big, round-lensed glasses with a black wire frame. "I-I dunno, Chell. Maybe they're jealous 'cause…" the boy trailed off, trying to think up a good reason as he tried to smooth down the locks of auburn hair that refused to lie flat. Charlie reminded Chell of her daddy, and Chell liked that even though it made her sad; the boy actually bore a strong resemblance to her deceased father, down to the shape of his face. "Ooh, I know! They're jealous of you 'cause their daddies didn't buy moon rocks!" he exclaimed with his English accent, looking proud of himself. He didn't mention the fact that her daddy had also died because he bought the moon rocks, but it was thought that counted. Chell held back a giggle and went back to glaring at the potato ant the jumble of wires in front of her. "I already did this! Why do I hafta do it again?" she asked, this time turning to the daycare teacher. The man looked at her in clear disdain and curtly replied, "Because it is an activity that will let you interact with the other children."

The other girls laughed at her, and Chell swore she heard one of them scoff, "Who would wanna in'tracked with a morun like _her?"_

Chell visibly deflated at their taunts, and Charlie's face went red with anger. "She is NOT a MORUN!" he shouted at the other girls, but, of course, they never acknowledged his existence, never mind the fact that he had yelled at them in defense of his friend. Charlie deflated as well as, once again, he went unnoticed by all but Chell. "Of _course_ they don't hear or see me." he muttered as he glared at the floor. He sat back down and began to fiddle with the wires, stabbing them in the potato at random with his anger dissipating swiftly. "Hey, Chell, you should try this. It makes you less mad!" he offered to her, pointing to the wire-impaled potato. She picked up a wire and pushed it into the starchy vegetable, sighing as she did so. Out the door, she saw her mommy being dragged somewhere by a couple of security guards. "Mommy?" she mumbled, standing up. Charlie noticed this and squinted in the direction she was looking in. "I don't see your mom…" the boy pointed out, but Chell had begun to run for her mother. She didn't like how scared her mommy looked. Charlie followed her, albeit a little unwillingly. "Wait, Chell! You could get in trouble with the teacher!" he yelled to his friend, but Chell didn't pay any heed to his warning. Then they heard Chell's mother screaming. _"NO! Let me go! I don't want this! Cielle needs me!"_

Charlie's blood ran cold, but the screaming only made Chell run faster. "MOMMY!" she cried out, reaching for the woman being dragged as she ran. _"Cielle? No! Don't follow me! Go back! I don't want them to put you in one too!"_ Chell's mother cried out, and Chell was confused. Why didn't want them to help her? And what did she mean by 'put you in one'? One guard, not one of the ones kidnapping Chell's mother, noticed the girl and grabbed her by the back of the sundress she was wearing. "Where do you think _you're_ going, missy?" he asked her rhetorically. "I gotta save my mommy!" Chell answered, struggling to get out of the man's grip. "Your mom's gonna be fine." the guard laughed. Chell's vision went red. It was bad enough that the other kids laughed at her, but now the grown-ups were, too? She roared at the adult and bit him in the arm by twisting herself in a way that left her mouth in the vicinity of the appendage grabbing her. He yelped and dropped her. Her legs hurt when she landed, but she ran off to find her mother anyway. Suddenly, the lights flickered, and she crashed into someone. It was Charlie, judging by the voice. She felt bad for not noticing that he had run ahead when the guard had caught her. "What was _that_ for?!" he squeaked at her. "Sorry, Char—" she cut herself off when she heard more screaming up ahead. Scientists ran away from the direction they were headed for, and the beginnings of sickly green clouds inched their way down the hallways. One man with black hair and paranoid brown eyes stopped long enough to grab her and Charlie around the waist and carry them like footballs. Wait a minute… "You can see Charlie too, mister?" Chell asked the man. He nodded curtly and took a turn that led to the testing chambers. "W-wait! This is where the people who do the testing go!" Charlie protested. "It's also where we'll be safe from the neurotoxin." the man responded, flicking his eyes around for an empty chamber suitable for the two. Finding one, he turned sharply into it and stopped, shutting the open door behind them after setting them down roughly. There was a door between two connected chambers here, meant for a cooperative group that the members would be woken one by one. He gently lowered Chell into the one in the room they were in right now. "W-what's that?" Charlie asked tentatively. "The green gas." was the man's only response as he sealed Chell in the Long Sleep chamber. He picked up Charlie again and moved into the adjoined room. He repeated the process, but hesitated before closing the hatch. "Kid…" the scientist began. Charlie stared at him in confusion. "You're more real than everybody thinks you are. Remember that, okay?"

"A-alright." Charlie stuttered quietly. Satisfied, the children's savior sealed the supposedly-imaginary boy in the chamber and waited impatiently for the floods of neurotoxin to die down.

**~~~~~~~CCA~~~~~~~**

**I know, I know, bad pun at the end. It was honestly unintentional. I know this chapter is short, but it's just a prologue of sorts, meant to set up the premise of the story.**

**Space: SPAAAACE!**

**Thanks for reading, and tell me what you think please!**


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